1. Home

PATRONAGE PROJECT

PEDESTAL IN PLAZA DE COLÓN, MADRID
20 DECEMBER, 2018 – DECEMBER, 2025

Julia (2018) by Jaume Plensa (Barcelona, 1955) was commissioned by the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson (FMCMP) for the Plaza de Colón in Madrid. It was created specially for this space, specifically for the pedestal formerly occupied by the statue of Christopher Columbus, the navigator who discovered the New World.

This large piece standing twelve metres high is made of polyester resin and white marble dust. It is based on a real model, a girl called Julia from San Sebastián whom Plensa scanned to obtain the exact volume of her head. The sculpture faces west and casts an interesting shadow over the square.

The work belongs to the art collection of the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson (FMCMP Collection) and has been displayed in this place since 2018 thanks to a collaboration
agreement between the Madrid Council and the Foundation.

This patronage initiative made it possible for Jaume Plensa – winner of the Velázquez Prize for the Arts in 2013 – to show a public sculpture of this kind in Spain for the first time.